Afghan woman to be granted citizenship

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday directed for granting citizenship to an Afghan woman, spouse of a Pakistani national.

A two-member bench comprising of Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Rooh-ul-Amin Khan heard the petition filed by Muhammad Ilyas. The petitioner pleaded that he married an Afghan woman in 2017 and immediately filed a request for granting her Pakistani citizenship, but he has not heard from the relevant department since then.

The petitioner’s counsel Saifullah Kakakhel informed the bench that under citizenship act, spouse of a Pakistani national could get nationality. The court after hearing arguments directed the Interior Ministry secretary to process the case within three months.

Meanwhile, Justice Rooh-ul-Amin Khan heard another case regarding the blocked Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) of seven members of a family living abroad.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2020.